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Please note all times listed are Saskatchewan time. This workshop will not be recorded.
Generating Essay Topics & Pitching and Publishing
What does it take to be a published essayist? Generating Essay Topics and Pitching and Publishing will explore this question through the practice of essay topic generation and writing, and a review of strategies for pitching and publishing writing, especially in terms of paid work.
Session 1:
Attendees will be invited to first list every possible personal identity that they can think of, including those that are visible and invisible, with the understanding that there will be no pressure to share their list with others. They will then be asked to list every curiosity and interest of theirs that they can think of, including those that folx may be unaware of, with the understanding that there will be no pressure to share their list with others. Attendees will then be encouraged to intersect their lists so that the subjects they are interested in (from List 2) can be analyzed with the lens you can apply to it (from List 1), which can open up a possibility to germinate a new essay. While many implicitly follow this process to craft an essay, such a deconstruction with lists may demystify the steps, and thereby broaden opportunities for essays.
Session 2:
In preparation for Workshop 2, participants will be invited to submit their potential essay topics a week in advance to allow the facilitator time to ensure that the subsequent presentation at the follow-up session will align well with the personal essay topics that there is interest in publishing. At this workshop, a variety of successful pitches will be reviewed in an attempt to demystify the process of pitching, negotiating rates, editing, publishing under a pen name, etc. Participants will finally be invited to craft their own pitches based on a 3-part formula that can be an entry point into what can be an intimidating process of getting published amid gatekeeping galore.
Workshop format:
Krystal Kavita Jagoo graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Windsor. Jagoo is passionate about equity, as can be seen from her writing and facilitation work for Scarborough Arts, Doctors Without Borders, etc. She was published over 100 times in 2021. Her visual art, "University Ableism Bingo" was featured in Pandemic: A Feminist Response, and the zine, CRIP COLLAB. Jagoo is working on her collection of essays, entitled, "They Colonized Even My Tongue," thanks to the support of Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council grants.
Funding provided by:
In proud partnership with:
